Viktor Vladimirovich Gerashchenko (; 21 December 1937 – 11 May 2025), nicknamed

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

(), was the Chairman of the

State Bank of the USSR The State Bank of the USSR (), known as the State Bank of the RSFSR from 1921 to 1923, and commonly referred to as Gosbank (), was the central bank and main component of the single-tier banking system of the Soviet Union. It replaced the State Ban ...

, then Governor of the

Bank of Russia The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (), commonly known as the Bank of Russia (), also called the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on 13 July 1990. It traces its beginnin ...

during much of the

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

and post-Perestroika periods.

Biography

Viktor Gerashchenko was born in Leningrad on 21 December 1937. His father was a leading Soviet banker who ran the Financial Department of the Foreign Office in the 1940s before ending his career as deputy chairman of the State Bank. Due to his father's connections, Viktor made a brilliant career in the Soviet banking system. At the age of 28 he became director of the first Soviet bank abroad, Moscow Narodny Bank, based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1982, Gerashcheko moved to work in the Vneshtorgbank, responsible for Soviet foreign trade. Seven years later he was appointed chairman of the Board of the USSR State Bank. In 1989, Gerashchenko became the last chairman of the State Bank of the USSR. For three years, which proved to be some of the most difficult for Russian national economics, he steered the nascent banking system as governor of the

. For approximately seven years during the 1990s, the Kremlin's ''obshchak'' ( «общак») or black cash was stored in the vaults of Vnesheconombank (VEB) because Gerashchenko stated that in 1992 VEB became an agency for the return of the state debt of the USSR due to a decree by the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

: "Vnesheconombank does not have a central banking license. It does not need it, since it does not conduct any commercial operations." He also added, "Due to the lack of a license, this is the only Russian bank that the Central Bank does not check – it does not have the right." His activities as Central Bank governor were controversial: for example, he was accused of illegally supplying money to the anti-reform forces in the Supreme Soviet during the 1993

Russian Constitutional Crisis In September and October 1993, a constitutional crisis arose in the Russia, Russian Federation from a conflict between the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin and the country's parliament. Yeltsin performed a self-coup, dissolving parliament a ...

. Gerashchenko was also accused of being largely responsible for the Russian "Black Tuesday" of October 1994, when the Russian ruble crashed 24 percent in one day. Former

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

economist

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

in 1995 called Gerashchenko "the worst central banker in the world." Gerashchenko resigned in 1994, but returned to the office following the

1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...

. Under his leadership, the

economy of Russia The economy of Russia is an Developing country, emerging and developing, World Bank high-income economy, high-income, industrialized, mixed economy, mixed Market economy, market-oriented economy. —Rosefielde, Steven, and Natalia Vennikova. " ...

rapidly recovered after the excruciating default. Gerashchenko made frequent TV appearances and became quite popular for his sardonic, dry sense of humor. In March 2002, Gerashchenko resigned again, citing his advanced age, and accepted the post of chairman of the board in the notorious oil company ''

Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...

''. He then joined the Rodina party as a co-chairman and made it to the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

as their representative. Gerashchenko died at the age of 87 on 11 May 2025 following a severe and prolonged illness.

Presidential candidacies

2004

Gerashchenko ran in the

2004 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 14 March 2004.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1642 Incumbent President Vladimir Putin was seeking a second full four-year term. It was a landslide v ...

. He was originally believed to have been acting as a back-up candidate to Rodina leader

Sergey Glazyev Sergey Yurievich Glazyev (; born January 1, 1961) is a Russian politician and economist, member of the National Financial Council of the Bank of Russia, and, since 2008, a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Glazyev was minister o ...

, in case something were to prevent Glazyev from running. However, a divide between Glazyev and Geraschchenko became apparent when Rodina nominated Geraschchenko for president instead of Glazyev. Geraschenko was ultimately refused registration by the

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

due to a technicality. The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

upheld his disqualification.

2008

Four years later, he considered running as an opposition candidate in the

2008 Russian Presidential election 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

Honours and awards

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 3rd class * Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class * Order of Honour *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

Medal "For Labour Valour" The Medal "For Labour Valour" () was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or significant contributions in the fields of science, culture or t ...

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" The Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" () was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on November 5, 1969 to commemo ...

* Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" () is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. It was established on 26 February 1997 by Presidential Decree � ...

References

External Links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerashchenko, Viktor 1937 births 2025 deaths Soviet economists Soviet bankers Russian economists Russian bankers Chairmen of the Board of Gosbank Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Businesspeople from Saint Petersburg Russian people of Belarusian descent Yukos Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Academic staff of the Higher School of Economics Governors of the Central Bank of Russia Soviet expatriates in the United Kingdom Members of the Central Committee of the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Rodina (political party) politicians Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation alumni